Offshore oil offers the best chance for America to lessen its dependence on foreign petroleum and to ease the energy crisis. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, nearly 200 billion barrels of recoverable oil may be trapped in formations under the continental shelf and slope—more than twice as much as has been produced in the United States since the first successful oil well was drilled in 1859.While this oil promises to relieve the developing shortage of fossil fuels, it also raises profound fears among environmentalists. Mere mention of the words “offshore drilling” recalls the rupture of an oil well in the Santa Barbara channel in 1969. The well spewed thousands of barrels of oil into the Pacific, blackening nearby California beaches and killing birds and fish. Oilmen and ecologists are still debating whether the accident left any long-term effects on the area's ecology.

The Santa Barbara accident continues to have an impact on offshore oil exploration. It was a factor in passage of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 which requires federal agencies to assess the environmental impact of their decisions. Drilling remains suspended on half of the 70 leases previously awarded by the federal government in the channel and the incident has stiffened the resistance of Atlantic Coast states to drilling off their shores. Several bills have been introduced in Congress to create marine sanctuaries where oil exploration would be barred. Oil companies are now required, before exploration begins, to offer guarantees that their activities will not harm the marine environment.

On the other hand, the energy problem seems to be pushing the country toward allowing a massive new search for offshore oil and natural gas. Shortages of gasoline became apparent to American motorists in 1972 and continued into the summer of 1973, giving the petroleum industry a strong debating point in its demands for a relaxation of strictures against offshore drilling. The Federal Trade Commission reported on July 9, 1973, that more than 1,200 of the nation's 220,000 retail gasoline stations had gone out of business in the first five months of the year and many others had drastically cut back their hours of operation for lack of fuel supplies.